|
The White House said Monday that it has "credible evidence" that Russian firms have sold sensitive military equipment to Iraq and called on Russians to cease such sales, although Moscow has already firmly denied it.
"The United States has credible evidence that Russian companies have provided assistance and prohibited hardware to the Iraqi regime, things such as night vision goggles, GPS jammers and antitank guided missiles," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters.
"These actions are disturbing and we have made our concerns clear to the Russian government. We've asked the Russian government that any such ongoing assistance cease immediately," he said.
The US State Department has alleged that Russian companies sold sensitive military equipment to Iraq in the run-up to the US-led war against Iraq, saying that it had raised the issue with the Russian government a number of times.
However, Russian president's aide Sergei Yastrzhembsky denied the accusation from the United States earlier in the day.
"Russia has been acting in strict compliance with all existing sanctions regimes," Yastrzhembsky told the Ekho Moskvy radio station.
(Xinhua News Agency March 25, 2003)
|
